AN; Hi. So this has been in my head for a while now. I've been reading Lily/James for about a year and never really written anything, but this story screamed to be written out. It was originally a songfic but a lot of people don't like the band that it was by (nothing Disney, I swear to you) so I decided to just leave it as is :)
James Potter was standing on the Astronomy Tower. He'd been patrolling – alone – for an hour already, and Lily still hadn't shown up.
The full moon bathed the grounds, and James wondered fleetingly how Sirius and Remus are doing, and if he'd have time to join them after patrol.
The trapdoor behind him swung open, and Lily tentatively stepped through. James stared at her. There was something different about her tonight. She was usually so confident and looked so controlled, but tonight… tonight she was all over the place. Her eyes darted everywhere – everywhere but at James.
"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I was with Scott."
"Things still going well, I see." James immediately regretted his comment.
"No, actually, I broke up with him tonight."
James' eyes asked what his mouth didn't dare to.
"It… it wasn't fair on him. Being with him," Lily explained.
James didn't have the courage to admit that her 'explanation' raised more questions than it answered.
Lily Evans knew James would be on the top of the Astronomy Tower, as surely as she knew that she was almost an hour late for patrol.
She reached the top of the tower, and found James standing in a pool of the full moon.
He turned and stared at her questioningly; she hesitantly explained why she was late.
James turned back to face over the edge of the tower, and Lily could tell that he wasn't satisfied with her explanation, but she was thankful he didn't press the matter.
Lily heard a howl in the distance, and had to ask. "Why aren't you with Remus?"
James spun to face her. "You know?" He whispered. She nodded.
"How long?"
Lily laughed. "Since about third year, you imbecile. I was pretty sure Remus wasn't off school once a month with violent menstrual cramps, and did you presume I thought all those injuries came from sneaking into Hogsmeade?"
"Well, we've all had our theories about Remus," James muttered darkly. "Monthly cramps included."
Lily smiled at the familiarity of their bickering, but her smile soon faded as she remembered what she'd gone up there to say. She realized that once she'd taken the step off the safety net that was hating James Potter, nothing would ever be the same.
James stood next to Lily in a silence that he'd grown comfortable with over the past few weeks. Lily was the first to break the silence.
"James, about Scott…" Lily's eyes finally met his.
"The thing is…" she stumbled over her words. "The thing is, it wasn't right for me to be with him, when he isn't the one I should be with."
James' heart leaped to his throat, and Lily looked at him searchingly.
"He's not the one I'm constantly thinking about. The one who is in my thoughts when I fall asleep. His face isn't the face I look for when I come downstairs for breakfast each morning. His eyes aren't the ones I pick out of a crowd of a hundred. And I can't stay with him."
James' hand flew to his hair. Was he imagining it, or had she just taken a considerable step towards him?
"I don't want to be alone James," she whispered, and her eyes flooded. "I don't want to go through this war without you."
He reached up to touch her jaw, and she moved closer.
"I don't want you to be alone, Lily. Just let me in. I'm not the same dickhead I was in first year. I've changed for you Lily. All for you."
She hiccupped through her tears. "God I'm such a bitch."
He grinned. "Nah, you're not that bad," he said. He pulled Lily closer and gathered her in his arms. She leaned her forehead against his chest.
"Lily?" He murmured.
Her eyes met his. "I want you to know that you're not alone, ok Lily? This war… we're gonna get through this, and I need you to know that I'm fighting for you Lily. Forever and always."
He hovered his face a hair's breadth from hers, waiting.
She breathed in his scent, took in every last detail about him, and touched her lips to his. As he reciprocated, she wound her arms around his neck and she felt his hand place itself lightly on her waist.
As the broke apart, James grinned down at her. "Told you we were meant to be together, Evans"
"Oh, shove it Potter." Lily grinned back at him, and turned to walk back down the stairs.
He hurried to follow her, to live for her, to fight for her. Forever and always.